Five lucky winners will be selected to win one of these Amazing Experiences! Be sure to like us on Facebook or sign up for Aquamail so you can be among the first to know about prize winners!

CONGRATULATIONS: Benjamin K. from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania!

Benjamin, you'll be going behind-the-scenes to have a private meet and greet with our Atlantic bottlenose dolphins. Your day will include working with our trainers to prepare food and play fun enrichment games!

To get any closer, you would actually have to be an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin! Go on a private meet and greet with our dolphins, tour the dolphin area, see how we prepare food for our favorite marine mammals, check out the dolphin’s extensive toy collection, and learn behind-the-scenes secrets from our trainers.

You will get to work with the trainer during a training session, learn how we communicate with the dolphins, and participate in enrichment and play activities, all while working alongside our marine mammal specialists!

Complete details

For the safety of our dolphins, all jewelry must be removed prior to going on deck with the dolphins. The Aquarium will lock up any jewelry but is not responsible for loss or damage. There is a good chance that your clothes will come into contact with salt water; we recommend bringing a change of clothes. Please wear non-slip, closed-toe shoes (no flip-flops, Crocs, or high heels).
In order for you to get close enough to touch the dolphins, you must be physically able to kneel and/or lie on your stomach for up to 15 minutes at a time without assistance. Due to the structure of the dolphin pools and platform, portions of the program are not accessible to pregnant women or guests with special needs. Participants do not get into the water, but it is important that you have basic swimming ability, as you will be interacting with the dolphins next to a deep-water pool. Our dolphins are trained for this program, but their behavior can still be unpredictable. For your safety, please be attentive and follow the instruction of the trainers at all times.

Animal Planet Australia: Wild Extremes - The Extreme Experience

CONGRATULATIONS: Kelly S. from Alexandria, Virginia!

Kelly, you'll get to go on a behind-the-scenes, personal guided tour with our Australia exhibit curator! You and three friends will get to meet our animals, participate in feedings and see parts of the exhibit not usually experienced by guests!

Start a trout feeding frenzy in our Allegheny waterfall; say hello to our cockatoo and tawny frogmouth; compare smiles with Pepe the crocodile! Go to the very top of the exhibit, meet our grey-headed flying fox and learn if the myths about bats are true. Then "go goannas" when you meet and learn about our outback monitor lizard—or goanna.

On this personal guided tour with our Animal Planet Australia: Wild Extremes curator, you will get the full behind-the-scenes tour of this incredible exhibit, up close encounters with our most popular animals, participate in feedings, and see areas of Animal Planet Australia: Wild Extremes not usually seen by our guests.

CONGRATULATIONS: Darren B. from Williamsburg, Virginia!

Darren, you'll get to go behind-the-scenes and meet our newest baby loggerhead turtle in DC! In addition to having a meet and greet with three friends, you'll also be able to give our turtle a name to carry him (or her) into their future!

The baby loggerhead sea turtles that are a part of the National Aquarium, Washington, DC’s loggerhead sea turtle early rehabilitation program are so adorable! Through this program, sea turtle hatchlings spend time in aquariums where they can safely grow before being released back to the ocean.

You can give our newest turtle, arriving in December 2012, a head start towards success with a name to carry him (or her) into the future! You will get to have a private meet and greet with our turtle, and once on display, the Gray's Reef Exhibit will feature a sign with the turtle's name and your name!

CONGRATULATIONS: David B. from Baltimore, Maryland!

David, you will get to go work side-by-side with our Upland Tropical Rain Forest staff and help care for this unique and diverse habitat!

There is only one rainforest in Maryland, and it's right here at the National Aquarium, Baltimore. You can help care for this unique habitat by working side by side with our Upland Tropical Rain Forest staff for a morning.

Go behind-the-scenes and learn what it takes to care for the diverse and extraordinary animals and plants that call the Upland Tropical Rain Forest exhibit home. Prepare food and feed our 15 species of birds, then learn about and tend to a wide range of tropical plants, including a cacao tree—where chocolate comes from! Meet and feed our golden lion tamarin monkeys, and help care for our poison dart frogs!

Meet the Animals of Blacktip Reef

We have our first Amazing Experiences Sweepstakes Winner!

CONGRATULATIONS: Fatimah A. from Sparks, Maryland! Fatimah, you and three friends will get to go behind-the-scenes of our Blacktip Reef exhibit and meet our new animals!

Go on a "hard-hat tour" behind-the-scenes of the construction of Blacktip Reef, and be one of the first people to meet our newest additions to the National Aquarium, Baltimore - blacktip reef sharks! These amazing sharks are currently being cared for at our Animal Care Center while they wait for the Blacktip Reef exhibit to open in summer 2013.

You can be among the first to see these sharks and several of the other Blacktip Reef animals, including ornate wobbegong sharks, giant whiptail rays, honeycomb rays, and other animals that will be a part of this new exhibit! Take a tour of the Animal Care Center, see how our salt water is made and tested, and visit our exhibit fabrication shop where we are currently creating coral for Blacktip Reef.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Void where prohibited by law. Open to legal US residents, except those residing in NY, RI, and FL who are 18 years of age or older. Sweepstakes begins 12:00 AM EST on 11/26/12 and ends 11:59 PM EST on 12/20/12. To enter, visit www.aqua.org and make a qualifying purchase. To enter for free, send a 3x5 card with name, address, and email to National Aquarium, 501 East Pratt St, Baltimore, MD 21202, Attn: Amazing Experiences Sweepstakes. Five (5) Grand Prize Experiences (GPEs) will be awarded according to prize schedule in official rules. All participants in GPEs must be at least 8 years old (and older for certain GPEs); all children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Winners are responsible for providing their own transportation to the National Aquarium, and for taxes, tips or other charges not specifically included in the GPE. ARV of each GPE: $1,000; Total ARV of all GPEs: $5,000. Odds of winning are based on the number of eligible entries received. For complete rules visit here.

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